Rivers of Passage by Ben Hohnke

Rivers of Passage by Ben Hohnke is a warm and very relatable coming-of-age flyfishing memoir centred around the trout waters of New England in northern NSW. Hohnke traces his journey from bait and spin fishing with his dad, through to the messy transition into flyfishing and the freedom of youth — road trips, sketchy gorges, and fishing first, everything else second. As life rolls on, the book follows the shift into adulthood: marriage, kids, proper work, and how fishing somehow manages to thread through it all, even through droughts, fires and pandemics. By the end, Hohnke is the one taking his own kids fishing, closing the loop in a way many anglers will recognise. It’s beautifully presented, a rare celebration of a fishery that deserves more limelight, and a very welcome addition to the Australian flyfishing bookshelf. 

__

Rivers of Passage: Adolescence to Fatherhood on Trout Streams

By Ben Hohnke

 A fly fishing memoir set in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia.

Ben was just like any other directionless adolescent—impatient to be independent, pass his driving test, find a girlfriend, and have enough work to fund his newfound passion for trout fishing, except his love of the outdoors took him to more places than just a series of creeks and streams around the New England region of Australia's New South Wales. 

Rites of passage have been an ancient tradition since the beginning of time, yet for the most part seem to have been lost to time and change. Do they even still exist in modern society? Perhaps so, though not in the ways we might imagine.

Set in the wild, rugged, and pristine trout streams of Australia's northernmost range, Rivers of Passage reflects on the author's unknowing rite of passage from leaving high school to becoming a father and leading his family through life. 

Deeply personal, yet intrinsically relatable for fathers and trout fishermen alike.

Paperback - 254 pages.